Our Opening Speech
In December of 2023, we embarked on an experiment inside this mall using one helium balloon, a very long string, and the assistance of an ice skater named Damian. We wanted to use the balloon as a , a tool to link us from the ground to the sky in an attempt to touch it.
— See, you used to be able to touch the sky at Lloyd. This place started out as an outdoor mall when it was built in 1960, and was only enclosed in the 90s. In a way, this balloon represented a piece of orphan sky, trying to reunite with its , bringing that original open connection to nature and freedom back into the building. —
But during our experiment at the ice rink, the balloon’s ascent came to an unexpected halt: we were thwarted by a mall cop, who informed us that no untethered balloons are allowed at the mall. We reeled in our piece of orphan sky and thanked the ice skater
From there, the intent of the project took a turn for us. We became interested in the slippery space between the actions that are allowed here and the actions that are not. We read the Lloyd Center code of conduct, which states that in order to lawfully be on the property, one must be actively shopping. But we also learned from our research that malls were originally constructed to be a civic commons, a re-creation of the urban downtown center, a site to gather and intersect. Yes, it was for shopping, but it wasn’t only for shopping.
In mall walking, we see the preservation of the mall’s original purpose, and a loophole to the “active shopping” requirement. Mall walking has existed for as long as malls themselves. The appeal is in the controlled environment of the shopping center: level ground, shelter from the elements, water fountains and restrooms, places to rest, ample space for a variety of paces, and above all, a place that centers pedestrians. Today, mall walking is formally promoted by the CDC as an effective and accessible form of exercise.
With this mall walk, we reclaim the original intentions of the mall as a public space: a place that merges the outdoors with the indoors, and offers ways to gather in public beyond consumerism.
We also reclaim the space that we occupy between the rules, as we move between the sky and the architecture, holding the idea that by mall walking, we’re doing something that both represents mall culture, and resists mall rules.
We think of this skylight as a representation of that space in between, of that crack in the code.
Through mall walking, we find a way to participate within the rules and against the rules simultaneously.
Through mall walking, we find the perfect action.
We don’t quite know what will happen when we enter the mall with this many balloons. But like many visitors to the mall will tell you: it’s easier to go through than to go around.
